Northeast
Deadly wake-up call: Alleged frat hazing electrocution highlights student dangers in off-campus homes
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A New Jersey college student’s reported electrocution stemming from what authorities believe to be tied to an alleged hazing incident has raised new questions regarding safety concerns within off-campus housing at universities around the country.
Earlier this month, a 19-year-old Rutgers University student was taken to the hospital in critical condition after being electrically shocked inside an off-campus Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity house during an alleged hazing incident, according to NJ.com. A second student was also reportedly injured by an electrical current after attempting to pull the victim away from the wire, a parent of a fraternity member told the outlet.
In response to the allegations, Alpha Sigma Phi’s national organization made the decision to permanently ban the university’s chapter from campus, effectively shuttering the College Avenue house’s doors.
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The Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity house at 106 College Avenue, where a 19-year-old Rutgers University student was seriously injured on October 15, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (Tanya Breen/Asbury Park Press via USA Today)
“Based on our information, we determined that the chapter violated multiple parts of the Fraternity’s Health and Safety guidelines that evening,” Gordy Heminger, president and CEO of Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity, Inc., said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Had the chapter not been hazing the new members that evening, we do not believe any injuries would have occurred. As a result of the investigation, the chapter is now closed.”
Following an institutional review, Rutgers has also placed the fraternity under a cease and desist order and organizational disciplinary probation.
While investigators are still working to piece together the events that led to one student being hospitalized, questions surrounding the safety of off-campus Greek life housing – and the risks of potential hazing – have started to emerge.
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A 19-year-old student was hospitalized in critical condition after being found unresponsive at an Alpha Sigma Phi chapter’s off-campus house at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. (iStock)
“There is a feeling and an expectation from parents that the university has greater control over these off-campus, privately owned housing options,” David Stollman, president of Campuspeak, told Fox News Digital. “I think a constant expectation that parents have is that there’s greater control than the university may actually have.”
Currently, regulations involving a university’s liability for incidents that occur in off-campus student housing are left up to each individual organization, with some schools weighing the benefits – and risks – of providing oversight for the homes.
“Campus attorneys have different opinions,” Stollman said. “Some believe and direct their university to say it’s better that we know and we do all that we can to add a layer of protection. Others say if we add that layer of protection, the university is then responsible.”
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Alpha Sigma Phi’s Rutgers University chapter has been permanently banned as authorities work to determine the cause of the student’s injuries, according to officials. (iStock)
Within days of the alleged hazing incident, Alpha Sigma Phi’s chapter house in New Brunswick was declared uninhabitable after it was revealed that the property had a history of failed inspections and a $10,000 fine issued earlier this year, according to records obtained by Fox News Digital.
Inspection records dating back to 2014 show a string of code violations, with officials documenting numerous hazards – including structural neglect and fire safety issues – beginning in 2020.
In 2023, inspectors discovered missing carbon monoxide alarms, broken door hardware, damaged flooring and exterior garbage buildup. One year later, many of the violations were still present when officials returned to the home, resulting in a $10,000 fine.
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After a 19-year-old Rutgers University fraternity member was critically injured in an alleged hazing incident, experts are raising questions regarding liability for off-campus residences’ safety violations. (iStock)
Another inspection in May 2025 uncovered 50 reported problems, including open wiring, structural damage, blocked fire escapes and pest infestations, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
Less than one month before the student was critically injured, the Department of Community Affairs confiscated the property’s certificate of inspection. Days later, a reinspection report indicated the house had at least 19 remaining violations, including several life-safety issues involving broken carbon monoxide detectors and blocked exits.
The home is owned by the Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity and managed by the organization’s national housing arm, CLVEN, according to property records.
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In a statement to Fox News Digital, Heminger insisted that any maintenance issues submitted to CLVEN were resolved in a timely manner, and “over 200 minutes of virtual housing meetings with undergraduates this academic year were reviewed, and there was never any mention of electrical/life safety issues in the house by any of the undergraduates.”
“Sadly, the undergraduates and – or – their guests committed a lot of documented damage to the chapter house,” Heminger said.
Additionally, Rutgers “has no involvement” in the oversight of the property, a university spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
An unsafe structure notice hangs on the front door of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity house at 106 College Avenue, where a 19-year-old Rutgers University student was seriously injured on October 15, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (Tanya Breen/Asbury Park Press via USA Today)
According to Stollman, many off-campus Greek life homes are either managed by the local or national chapter, or rented from a third-party landlord – with many organizations preferring local alumni to universities when it comes to safety evaluations.
“There’s risk to the university if they go through and certify those houses,” Stollman told Fox News Digital. “Because if they certify something is safe and it’s not, then I as a parent would look to them and say, ‘Wait a minute, you told me this was safe.’”
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However, Stollman insists that universities with such housing situations should provide increased transparency to parents regarding their involvement in ensuring the safety of students.
“It would be great if a parent can help their student shop for where they want to live off-campus by some of that transparency,” Stollman said. “[With] the university bringing in what violations the city has put forth, even if the university isn’t certifying that these violations are accurate or inaccurate.”
The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office is currently investigating to determine if criminal charges can be brought against any of the students found to be involved in the incident, according to Rutgers.
The victim is currently recovering from his injuries and is still receiving treatment, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to Fox News Digital.
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As Greek life remains a solidified tradition throughout the country’s higher education system, Stollman implores families to do their research regarding their student’s off-campus housing options while prioritizing safety and transparency.
“Off-campus rental properties for students is a big business,” Stollman said.
“There are a lot of companies who have invested greatly in those big college towns, especially. [Families should] look at what these companies are putting forward in their leases, and what they’re putting forward in their protections of students. So it’s a tough situation, it’s really [about] what you can find out and how you can make decisions as early as possible.”
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Robert Bryan is a licensed forester from Harpswell and author or co-author of numerous publications on managing forests for wildlife. Paul Larrivee is a licensed forester from New Gloucester who manages both private and public lands, and a former Maine Forest Service forester.
In November 2025, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved a conservation plan and forest management plan as mitigation for impacts from the NECEC transmission corridor that runs from the Quebec border 53 miles to central Maine.
As professional foresters, we were astonished by the lack of scientific credibility in the definition of “mature forest habitat” that was approved by DEP, and the business-as-usual commercial forestry proposed for over 80% of the conservation area.
The DEP’s approval requires NECEC to establish and protect 50,000 acres to be managed for mature-forest wildlife species and wildlife travel corridors along riparian areas and between mature forest habitats. The conservation plan will establish an area adjacent to the new transmission corridor to be protected under a conservation easement held by the state. Under this plan, 50% of the area will be managed as mature forest habitat.
Under the forest management plan, a typical even-aged stand will qualify as “mature forest habitat” once 50 feet tall, which is only about 50 years old. These stands will lack large trees that provide wildlife denning and nesting sites, multiple vegetation layers that mature-forest birds use for nesting and feeding habitats and large decaying trees and downed logs that provide habitat for insects, fungi and small mammals, which in turn benefit larger predators.
Another major concern is that contrary to the earlier DEP order, the final approval allows standard sustainable forestry operations on the 84% of the forest located outside the stream buffers and special habitats. These stands may be harvested as soon as they achieve the “mature forest habitat” definition, as long as 50% of the conserved land is maintained as “mature.”
After the mature forest goal is reached, clearcutting or other heavy harvesting could occur on thousands of acres every 10 years. Because the landowner — Weyerhaeuser — owns several hundred thousand acres in the vicinity, any reductions in harvesting within the conservation area can simply be offset by cutting more heavily nearby. As a result, the net
mature-forest benefit of the conservation area will be close to zero.
Third, because some mature stands will be cut before the 50% mature forest goal is reached, it will take 40 years — longer than necessary — to reach the goal.
In the near future the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) will consider an appeal from environmental organizations of the plan approval. To ensure that ecologically mature forest develops in a manner that meets the intent of the DEP/BEP orders, several things need to change.
First and most important, to ensure that characteristics of mature forest habitat have time to develop it is critical that the definition include clear requirements for the minimum number of large-diameter (hence more mature) trees, adjusted by forest type. At least half the stocking of an area of mature forest habitat should be in trees at least 10 inches in diameter, and at least 20% of stands beyond the riparian buffers should have half the stocking in trees greater than or equal to 16 inches in diameter.
Current research as well as guidelines for defining ecologically mature forests, such as those in Maine Audubon’s Forestry for Maine Birds, should be followed.
Second, limits should be placed on the size and distribution of clearcut or “shelterwood” harvest patches so that even-aged harvests are similar in size to those created by typical natural forest disturbance patterns. These changes will help ensure that the mature-forest block and connectivity requirements of the orders are met.
Third, because the forest impacts have already occurred, no cutting should be allowed in the few stands that meet or exceed the DEP-approved definition — which needs to be revised as described above — until the 50% or greater mature-forest goal is reached.
If allowed to stand, the definitions and management described in the forest management plan would set a terrible precedent for conserving mature forests in Maine. The BEP should uphold the appeal and establish standards for truly mature forest habitat.
Human remains were discovered Wednesday in the water in Shirley, Massachusetts, and authorities suspect foul play.
Police in Shirley said in a social media post at 7:15 p.m. that they responded to “a suspicious object in the water near the Maritime Veterans Memorial Bridge on Shaker Road.” Massachusetts State Police later said the object was believed to be human remains.
The bridge crosses Catacoonamug Brook near Phoenix Pond.
The office of Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said a group of young people was walking in the area around 5:30 p.m. and “reported seeing what appeared to be something consistent with a body part in the water.”
Foul play is suspected, Ryan’s office said.
Authorities will continue investigating overnight into Thursday, and an increased police presence is expected in the area.
No further information was immediately available.
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